Quick Facts

Turning your New Jersey business into an S corporation can save you thousands in payroll and income taxes a year, and the set-up is so easy you can do it yourself. All you need to do is fill out four forms--something that's very doable if you work from one of our do-it-yourself, instantly downloadable New Jersey S Corporation kits.

The paragraphs below provide some high-level background information, but if you want to skip that background and just quickly grab the downloadable kit you want, page down to the clearly labeled buttons.

For people that do want a bit of background (including help determining which kit they should grab), however, let me quickly review the forms and the steps you take to set up an S corporation in New Jersey....

Form 1: New Business Entity Filing

Regardless of what type of business entity you want to form, you will first need to download the Public Records Filing for New Business Entity form from the New Jersey Department of State website. On this form, indicate what type of business entity you wish to use for your S corporation. I personally recommend using a limited liability company, although you could also use a regular corporation or something else. Submit the completed form to the Department of State Office in Trenton.

Form 2: Business Registration Application

The second form you will need to fill out is the Business Registration Application. This form, which is also available from the New Jersey Department of State website, asks for your business's FEIN, or Federal Employer Identification Number. You will apply for that is the next step, so check the box for "Applied for". Then, send this form to the Department of State Office in Trenton as well.

Form 3: SS-4 for FEIN Application

To apply for an FEIN, fill out an SS-4 form. The IRS provides free downloadable versions of this form on its website. You should receive your federal employer identification number within a month or two of submitting the SS-4 form to the IRS.

Form 4: 2553 for Subchapter S Election

Once you receive your Employer Identification Number from the IRS, you can make the S corporation election. To do this, fill out a 2553 form, which you can find on the IRS website available for download. Send this completed form to the Internal Revenue Service Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. The IRS will analyze your application to be sure that you followed correct procedure in making the S corporation election and that you are eligible to make the election. Your business will then receive S corporation status a few weeks later.

As noted earlier, to make this process of bit easier, I publish and sell two affordable versions of my New Jersey S corporation kit, one for businesses using an LLC to form the S corporation and one for businesses using a traditional corporation.

LLC-based New Jersey S Corporation Kit

LLCs tend to be a bit easier to manage and maintain, and for that reason I recommend using them over corporations. My LLC kit provides clear, easy-to-follow instructions for anyone who chooses to use an LLC to form their New Jersey S corporation. To make the process easier, I included completed examples of all the forms you will need for reference. As a bonus, I also included two sets of sample LLC operating agreements. One set is for LLCs with one owner, and the other set is for LLCs with multiple owners.

Corporation-based New Jersey S Corporation Kit

In a few rare cases, a business may benefit more from using a traditional corporation rather than a limited liability company. For example, a business may need to have the word "Corporation" or "Inc" in its name to gain credibility in its field. In that case, my corporation kit provides all the necessary information to set up an S corporation in New Jersey. Like the LLC version, it includes detailed steps to guide you through the entire process, as well as completed examples of all the forms for reference. And to further help your new business, I added a sample set of corporate bylaws, which you or your attorney may use to help you draft up your own bylaws.

Additional Information You May Find Useful

If you want additional information about how to maximize the tax savings related to running a business or investment venture, you may also be interested in one of our downloadable e-books (see descriptions below). Each book covers a category of tax planning topics that easily save a business owner significant amounts of income or self-employment taxes (potentially thousands of dollars a year) and is instantly downloadable.

One of the most powerful tactics for saving small business taxes is maximizing your deductions. You can literally save thousands in taxes each year.

About Stephen L. Nelson CPA, PLLC

Stephen L. Nelson CPA, PLLC is a public accounting firm in the Seattle area specializing in Subchapter S corporations and limited liability companies. The firm has over three decades of of accounting experience. We primarily serve clients from Washington State, but are equipped to serve clients from other populous western states such as California and Texas as well. We author several best-selling books about accounting and finance including Quicken for Dummies (which has sold more than 1,000,000 copies) and QuickBooks for Dummies (which has sold more than 500,000 copies). Stephen L. Nelson has also taught LLC and S corporation taxation in the graduate tax school at Golden Gate University. (For more information about Stephen L. Nelson, see his Google+ profile page.)